Marywood to Host Free Performance of Miss Julie

Marywood to Host Free Performance of Miss Julie

Miss Julie will be performed in the Sette LaVerghetta Center for Performing Arts on the following days. Admission is free:

Saturday, February 9, at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, February 10, at 2 p.m.

Miss Julie was written by the 19th century Swedish playwright August Strindberg, who, according to some, is considered to be "one of the founders of modern theater." It's a nineteenth century story set on a holiday Midsummer night in Sweden, dealing with the issues of class, lust, the battle of the sexes and the role of women in a male-dominated world.

"Most people who study theater study Miss Julie," says Barbara Blackledge, who is directing Penny Penniston's modern adaptation of the play. "It is without a doubt Strindberg's most famous work."

Blackledge says that she read and studied more than 15 adaptations of Miss Julie before she selected Penniston's 2012 version.

The cast includes students Gina Solebello, Shane Hirschler and Erin McMahon. Judith Synder is the scene designer and production manager. According to McMahon, who is playing "Kristin"—a servant—it has been a challenge preparing for a role that was originally written in the 1880s.

"My character's reactions are so different than how a modern person would interpret these events," McMahon explains. "This role is very different from the things that I am used to playing. My character is very practical, very down-to-earth."

The cast and crew has been preparing for weeks, and Solebello, who is playing "Miss Julie," like McMahon, has had her own set of challenges to overcome.

"This is the most challenging role I have ever had to play," Solebello says. "The trick, however, to playing it well is finding the similarities between the character and myself. I am looking forward to the performance, and I think the audience will enjoy it, too."